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Nats’ Harper Gives Thumbs-Up After Undergoing Thumb Surgery

WASHINGTON, DC - APRIL 24: Bryce Harper #34 of the Washington Nationals slides safely into second base against the San Diego Padres in the twelfth inning at Nationals Park on April 24, 2014 in Washington, DC. The San Diego Padres won, 4-3, in twelve innings. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)

(Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON (CBSDC/AP) — Nationals fans got a “thumbs up” from Bryce Harper on Tuesday after the outfielder underwent surgery on his injured thumb.

Harper tweeted a photo of himself in a hospital bed giving a thumbs up with his right thumb — as his left arm lay in a sling and his left hand wrapped in a cast — shortly after having surgery to repair a torn ligament in his left thumb.

On the road to recovery..Everything went great and I'll be back soon! Thank you to all the fans for the support! pic.twitter.com/66Wn7sxHQ9

Manager Matt Williams would not commit to a time frame, but said “that time frame is out there” after reports Monday that he would be out until at least July.

“The doctor reported that everything went fine, and we got a little message from Bryce about getting back and taking BP post-surgery,” Williams joked.

“It went fine, we’ll have to see how long it takes … we expect him to heal fast. Given his history, he has healed pretty fast. We are optimistic about it, but we’re not really sure how long it is going to take.”

The two-time All-Star was placed on the 15-day disabled list on Sunday with what was then called a sprained left thumb.

He was injured on Friday night against San Diego on a headfirst slide into third base on a triple. He remained in the game until after the next inning.

Despite the injury, Williams is not opposed to headfirst slides.

“Bryce had another collision sliding feet first earlier in the year, and he hurt himself last year sliding feet first,” Williams said.

“It’s something that you can’t control. The play that he hurt himself on, he was trying to get to third base the quickest he could, and I don’t know if he is safe if he slides feet first. He was safe sliding head first, but he got the thumb in the wrong position.”

The 21-year-old Harper is batting .289 with one home run and nine RBIs this season.

Harper was the National League Rookie of the Year in 2012 after hitting .270 with 22 homers and 59 RBIs.

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